The decision to dispose of North Korea's gold has sparked fears it could be trying to ward off an "imminent economic collapse". Such a move clashes with founding leader Kim Il-sung's order to never sell the country's gold.

However, experts poured cold water on suggestions the country could imminently go bust. Aidan Foster Carter, honorary senior research fellow in Modern Korea at Leeds University, told the Huffington Post UK: "North Korea has often sold gold and they do it quite routinely. It's not a sign of imminent economic collapse."